Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Andy Warhol has become an icon of American art, the “Pope of Pop Art”. His name summons mental images of Campbell Soup Cans, or brightly colored Marilyn Monroe’s and Mick Jagger’s. The appeal of Warhol’s work lies in the familiarity of the subjects; these images, as a part of everyday culture and life, were already ingrained in the minds of Americans. So when Warhol put them onto a canvas, they were easy-to-like, accessible, pleasing. Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, is the musical equivalent of Andy Warhol. Specializing in the trade of mashups, Gillis wonderfully edits an array of indie, rock, hip hop, and rap clips to create Night Ripper.

You may have heard the phrase, “Pop will eat itself” (or maybe you’ve heard the band). Aristotelian in nature, it refers to a belief that since pop rehashes ideas constantly, the perfect song can be created by combining the best of pop songs. Night Ripper proves that this theory has merit. Halfway through “Smash Your Head”, Greg Gillis mixes Notorious BIG singing over Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”, resulting in a hypnotizing minute of music.

Yet, Gillis’s goal isn’t to create the perfect pop song. While other mashup artists combine two or three songs and bottle it in a three-minute, accessible tune, Night Ripper demands to be listened to as an album. And to call it an album doesn’t seem entirely proper in the first place; it is one continuous mix. Like paragraphs in an essay, the songs are divided only by different ideas and tones.

Since nearly none of the material is original, it’s difficult to critique the music itself. Gillis maintains a steady beat throughout most of the album, despite its chaotic nature. Transitions are mostly perfect. The production and mixing is spot on. His choice of samples range from classic rock to today’s pop. Indie gems like Neutral Milk Hotel and LCD Soundsystem are juxtaposed with Ludacris and Ciara. And Gillis packs these samples so tightly that listening a fourth or fifth time exposes something new, making multiple listenings far from boring.

Andy Warhol left his mark on Pittsburgh – his artwork can be found all over the local universities and in the Andy Warhol Museum– so it’s possible that Gillis, who grew up and still lives in Pittsburgh, was inspired by Warhol’s Pop Art. Regardless, Night Ripper is a solid, fun, intriguing album worth giving a listen.